Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani on Wednesday dubbed the latest Israeli war on Gaza “a crime against humanity,” urging the UN Security Council and the international community to step in so as to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Addressing the UN General Assembly on Wednesday Sheikh Tamim said the colonization of Palestinian, the last remaining issue on the decolonization agenda, cannot be worked out via provisional and useless half-solutions. Speaking out against Israel’s atrocities and genocides in Gaza, the Emir said: “The conscience of mankind has been deeply shocked by the tragic pictures and unprecedented realities that the world has seen during the aggression on Gaza and targeting of civilians: babies were killed while in the arms of their mothers, almost half a million Palestinians were displaced, and Gaza Strip was destroyed on a large scale before we even finished the reconstruction of what was destroyed during the previous aggression.” “The definition of what that aggression has committed, as per the provisions of international law and the international humanitarian law, is a crime against humanity,” he charged. “The arrogance of power will not overcome the resistance of the Palestinian people. I salute the steadfastness of the resistance of the Palestinian people in Gaza in the face of the occupation and in insisting on regaining its legitimate rights,” Bin Hamad proceeded. “May the souls of the Palestinian martyrs rest in peace.” “Peace and security can never see the day without commitment to the international law and legitimacy and without respect for human rights,” the Emir declared. “The aftermath of the Israeli aggression on Gaza makes it imperative that the international community urges the occupation state to put international resolutions into effect.” Sheikh Tamim appealed to the UN Security Council to pass a resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter to force Israel to end its occupation of lands captured in 1967.

Roger Waters, Pink Floyd Music LegendTo witnesses: “You have led us very eloquently into hell today. This is heartbreaking”

I’ve been in Brussels today witnessing the Russell Tribunal on Palestine which is assessing Israel’s war crimes in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge. The full testimony is available on the Tribunal’s website, but I have captured some key excerpts from my live reporting today. The likes of film maker Ken Loach, music legend Roger Waters and internationally renowned lawyers such as Michael Mansfield QC formed a jury – while expert witnesses from Gaza and beyond testified to the atrocities of the 50 day offensive.

Having borne personal witness to the unimaginable brutality and carnage of Israel’s onslaught while in Gaza in August, much of today was like a live action replay – evoking the same fear, anger and tear-inducing gutteral sadness that reduces you to shoulder-shaking sobs. Here are some of the key points:

Ivan Karakashian, Advocacy Unit Coordinator at Defense for Children International“16 yr old boy stripped naked and used as human shield by Israel for 5 days. He was denied food, water and sleep – and mentally and physically abused, including lashed with a wire across his back. Israeli army stopped a family car near a West Bank protest over Gaza. Positioned their weapons in the windows of back doors, where toddlers were sitting and began to fire on protest. This is not an isolated incident. There is a clear, recorded pattern of Israel using Palestinian children as human shields during attacks on Gaza.”

Max Blumenthal, American author, journalist, and blogger“We found one of 89 families completely liquidated during Operation Protective Edge so badly burned/destroyed they had to be buried in a mass grave by a bulldozer – evoking memories of the darkest times in European history. On outskirts of Rafah, I heard testimony from 19 yr old Mohammed Abu Said of how Israeli soldiers stripped him naked and sniped at neighbours, then set the dogs on him in between shooting rounds. In Khuza’a – a man left a group of <resistance> fighters in his home. He returned to find their throats had been cut, their bodies piled in a corner and burnt with grenades. A clear pattern of executions has been established. Israeli soldiers gather civilians in an open area, asks if anyone speaks Hebrew. When people step forward, they shoot them dead. Four brothers of one man were taken into garden and shot dead, one of them was mentally disabled and had little idea he was being killed.”

Martin Lejeune, German journalist

“More than 90% of Gaza’s agricultural output destroyed by Israel over summer, almost all farms destroyed. Israel destroyed 220 factories in Gaza, this constitutes around 70% of Gaza’s industrial output gone.There was no military justification for the destruction of these factories whatsoever. I stayed in Gaza for one month in a house with 72 Palestinian civilians, 60 of whom had been displaced. It was overcrowded, tap water wasn’t working anymore, we had to buy fuel, we had to bake our own bread as none available in shops. 220 factories were completely destroyed during the 7 weeks of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge. Israel has succeeded in turning a functional economy in Gaza into a third world territory in just 8 years, through the blockade and four large scale military assaults. Israel is not only attacking systematically civilians in their homes, but systematically destroying the economy of Gaza to make people dependent on aid.”

Dr Mohammad Abou-Arab, Gaza Doctor at Al Shifa Hospital“One ambulance worker shot in the head and bled to death while fellow workers were told if they tried to assist him, they would be killed too. Another worker burned to death in his ambulance after a missile attack against it – his colleague was severely injured in the attack, left with life-altering burn injuries. We are talking about Gaza firefighters, police officers, ambulance workers and other emergency services workers being routinely shot at by snipers and missiles by Israeli military. Anyone who knows anything about Palestinian society knows that no Palestinian would use a child or family as a human shield. Israel however routinely used Palestinians as human shields throughout this operation and those prior.”

Dr Mads Glibert:Norwegian Doctor who served in Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza Throughout Offensive

“This is a systematic attack to rid Palestinians from the land. If you are an 8 yr old child in Gaza today, you have survived 4 of these onslaughts – 2006, 2008/9, 2012 and 2014. What does this do to a child? To their feeling of safety? To their outlook on the world? The medical system of Gaza was already on its knees before the summer attacks due to Israeli blockade” “This is a medical disaster – the capacity for treatment is massively exceeded by medical needs. Such disaster often happen in natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis…but Gaza was deliberate, controlled and executed by the Israelis.”

Mohammed Omer, Award-winning Palestinian Journalist based in Gaza“Israeli army routinely defecate in Palestinian homes and buildings they occupy, leaving behind racist and violent graffiti together with piles of shit. The Imam in Gaza was held for days by Israeli troops who ordered him at gunpoint to use mosque tannoy to call on community to come to the mosque. As young people gathered they were surrounded by Israeli troops, stripped naked at gunpoint and tortured/killed for sport. The Imam was used as human shield by Israeli troops. He was stripped naked at gunpoint in front of men, women and children of the neighborhood.” These are just a handful of moments from the full day of testimony. I encourage you to follow tomorrow’s press conference where the jury will share their conclusions. I’ll be there, reporting for you. The trailer for my film “Palestine: What Hope Peace?”

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) began an extraordinary session, Wednesday morning, with the aim of addressing Israel’s crimes during the latest aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency reports that, according to the RToP website, the session took place in Brussels, and will present its findings tomorrow, at the European Parliament.

According to Al Ray, an international jury of judges, lawyers and human rights activists investigated crimes (including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide) committed by Israel during its self-proclaimed “Operation Protective Edge” offensive, as well as third party complicity from supporting states.

Over 2,200 Palestinians were killed and 11,000 wounded this summer -- most of whom were civilians -- in a relentless series of indiscriminate and merciless Israeli military attacks. Entire families were eliminated in apparent war crimes.

The RToP was formed in March of 2009, following Israel’s 22-day ‘Cast Lead’ offensive on Gaza. Its aim is to promote and sustain initiatives in support of the rights of the Palestinian people.

Warning: footage linked above is of an extremely violent and graphic nature.

The RToP is a part of the Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal or Russell-Sartre Tribunal, a public body which was organized by British philosopher Bertrand Russell and hosted by French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre.

Amer Abu Eisha and Marwan al-QawasmiThe Palestinian delegation to Cairo's truce talks strongly denounced the Israeli occupation state for assassinating two Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil city on Tuesday, and accused it of acting in bad faith. "Choosing this time to assassinate citizens Marwan Qawasmi and Amer Abu Aisha reflected Israel's premeditated malicious intents and aggressive attitude against the Palestinian people," the delegation stated in a press release today.

Its statement stressed that Israel seeks to evade its international obligations as an occupation entity and to obstruct the efforts aimed at resuming the truce talks in Cairo to end the blockade on Gaza through its persistence in committing crimes against the Palestinian people.

The delegation also accused Israel of persisting in flouting appeals by the international community to end its aggression and violations against the Palestinians in all occupied territories and end its inhumane blockade on Gaza.

In a related development, the Palestinian delegation to Cairo suspended its indirect truce talks with Israel in protest at its assassination of Qawasmi and Abu Aisha in Al-Khalil.

Informed sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that members of the delegation returned to their residence in order to consult on the next step they would take to respond to Israel's crime in Al-Khalil.

Amer Abu Aisha and Marwan Qawasmi, both Hamas members, were murdered at dawn Tuesday after a large number of Israeli troops encircled the house they were in and clashed with them.

Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq strongly condemned the Israeli assassination of the two Palestinian youths Amer Abu Eisha and Marwan al-Qawasmi, saying that it is an Israeli attempt to evade conditions of the ceasefire agreement. The senior Hamas official stated that the Israeli occupation will pay a heavy price after committing this crime.

Hamas Movement mourned in a statement issued on Tuesday the two Palestinian youths who were suspected of kidnapping three Israeli soldiers in al-Khalil a few months ago.

Thousands of Hamas supporters and Palestinians in the West Bank marched in al-Khalil funeral procession of the martyrs Abu Eisha and Marwan al-Qawasmi who were murdered in armed clashes with Israeli forces at dawn today.

National figures and deputies at Palestinian Legislative Council participated in the funeral amid slogans calling for revenge and supporting resistance.

Hamas movement called for mass participation in the funeral of the two martyrs who were responsible for the capturing and killing of three Israeli soldiers on June 12.

The movement stressed on armed resistance as the sole option for Palestinian people to restore their land and holy sites.

In their turn, Palestinian activists called via social media networks for mass participation in marches throughout the West Bank in response to Israeli crimes most recently was the assassination of Amer Abu Eisha and Marwan al-Qawasmi in al-Khalil.

The activists also called on the PA security forces to stop persecuting Palestinian resistance members and to put an end to security coordination with the Israeli occupation forces.

Meanwhile, violent clashes erupted in Bab Zawiya in al-Khalil in protest against the assassination of the two Palestinian youths in the city.

For its part, Hamas military wing Qassam Brigades vowed to continue resistance against occupation till the liberation of Palestine and holy sites.

The brigades mourned the two heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives in defense of Palestinian people and Arab and Islamic nation, according to the statement.

For her part, the martyr Marwan al-Qawasmi’s mother said during an interview with a local radio station that her son had sacrificed his life in the name of Allah.

The murder has been claimed a few months after the Israeli occupation army launched the so-called retaliatory “Bring Back our Brothers” campaign, in the wake of which 773 innocent Palestinian civilians were rounded up while dozens of family homes had either been demolished or ransacked under pretext of searching for the potential kidnap suspects.

A mass collective punishment has been carried out in the West Bank while a bloody aggression was declared on Gaza Strip, which left 2158 martyrs, following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli soldiers in al-Khalil.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) claimed responsibility for the murder of two Palestinian youths suspected of kidnapping three Israeli soldiers in al-Khalil a few months ago, the Israeli radio broadcasted on Tuesday. According to the broadcast, an armed clash flared up in al-Jamia neighborhood, in al-Khalil, between the Israeli occupation troops and special units and the two wanted Palestinian youths, Amer Abu Eisha and Marwan al-Qawasmi. Scores of unarmed Palestinian youngsters were kidnapped in the process under the pretext that they might have partaken in hiding the suspects.

A special Israeli military force, escorted by the so-called Yamam unit, had suddenly invaded the place where the two suspects were believed to be hiding, the Israeli Yediot Ahranot newspaper said.

Sometime earlier, large Israeli occupation patrols overnight targeted a number of Palestinian family homes and shops in al-Jamia residential neighborhood with arbitrary demolitions after having cordoned off the area and unleashed heavy barrages of bullet fire and sound bombs.

The invading undercover troops wrapped up the attack by knocking down a home owned by one of al-Qawasmi’s relatives and ransacked others, using a bulldozer and a digger.

Random waves of live ammunition and crossfire were unleashed in the process so as to force the civilian inhabitants to evacuate their homes. A number of al-Qawasmi’s family members were rounded up throughout the attack.

The Israeli occupation soldiers further raided Palestinian civilian tower apartments and deployed at their rooftops in an attempt to keep tabs on all of the entry and exit doors.

At the same time, a drove of Israeli spying drones kept hovering in al-Khalil’s airspace, spreading a state of unparalleled panic among women and children.

Another Israeli occupation unit broke into Abu Eisha’s family home in al-Khalil’s al-Sir neighborhood and nabbed a number of unarmed Palestinian youngsters before dragging them to an unidentified destination.

The murder has been claimed a few months after the Israeli occupation army launched the so-called retaliatory “Bring Back our Brothers” campaign, in the wake of which 773 innocent Palestinian civilians were rounded up while dozens of family homes have either been demolished or ransacked under pretext of searching for the potential kidnap suspects.

The Israeli occupation army admitted that it had used overwhelming gunfire and shelling in Rafah area, to the south of Gaza, on the first of August to stop the capture of Israeli officer Hadar Goldin during clashes with resistance fighters from Al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas. The southern command of the Israeli army conducted debriefing recently on its operation Hannibal in Rafah, confirming that the fire was indeed extremely heavy, especially by the artillery.

According to the army, fighter jets joined the indiscriminate bombing in the area during the operation to save the officer.

According to Palestinian local sources, 120 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and many others suffered injuries when the Israeli army unleashed during the operation heavy artillery and aerial shelling on the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that criticizing Israel's massacres and crimes against the Palestinians, its disregard for human life and violation of the international law can never be anti-Semitism. Addressing the council on foreign relations in New York, Erdogan stated that "criticizing Israel's massacres that defy international law, trample on human rights and life is not anti-Semitism." "And it is not anti-Semitism to criticize an administration (the Israeli government) that massacres and kills babies and children in their homes, mosques, hospitals, schools, beaches, parks, without any discrimination." "Our criticism is not directed to the Jews. It is only and solely directed at the Israeli administration and its policies, and no one should distort this. There is a distinction here," the Turkish president underlined. In another context, the Palestinian ministry of education on Monday signed an agreement on teaching the Turkish language in Palestinian schools with the Turkish cooperation and coordination agency (TIKA) in the West Bank. In a press release, the Palestinian ministry of education said that the agreement stipulates teaching the Turkish language from the seventh grade to the tenth by three classes every week. TIKA, under the agreement, will provide schools with text books and educational materials, qualify the teachers, pay their salaries and establish a library. The ministry of education noted that the Turkish language would be taught as an optional subject in certain schools of the West Bank as of the current school year.

The National Democratic Assembly at the Israeli Knesset, in cooperation with dozens of Arab citizens, started a large campaign to lodge official complaints against Israeli Members of Knesset (MK) for incitement against Arab political leaders, and the Arabs in general, during the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

The Arabs48 news website has reported that at least 50 complaints have been officially filed so far, especially after a series of flammable statement of hatred, and incitements, were uttered by members of Knesset against the Arabs in the country, and the Palestinians in general, during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

Officials in charge of filing the complaints said the remarks made by senior Israeli officials, and members of Knesset, are racist and very serious incitement to violence against the Arabs.

They said many Israeli officials committed serious violations and acts of incitement mounting to crimes as stated by the Israeli laws regarding incitement and racism, but we never brought to justice.

Some of the officials who uttered racist statements, and incitement, against the Arabs in the country are Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who called for boycotting all Arab stores and businesses across the country, to shut them down.

However, one of the most racist statements, that actually resemble an actual death threat against the Arabs, was a statement made by Israeli Parliamentarian Ayeley Shaked of the extremist Jewish Home Party, who called for killing all Arab mothers for giving birth to what she called “snakes."

“They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists," she said, adding, "They are all our enemies, and their blood should be on our hands. This also applies to the mothers of the dead terrorists.”

A number of officials, including Moshe Feiglin, of the “Likud - National Liberal Movement," have also made other racist statements.

The National Democratic Assembly said the campaign calls for holding those ministers and Knesset members accountable for statements defined by law as racist and incitement.

It is worth mentioning that dozens of Arab citizens across the country have been fired from their jobs, and many have been physically assaulted, during the war on Gaza, due to racist statements made by several Israeli political leaders and officials.

The
U.S. is not a neutral mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict;
it is an active participant and is guilty of the crimes being
committed by Israel against Palestinians, most recently, the mass
killings and destruction Israel wrought on the Gaza Strip during the
summer.

The reality that the U.S. is an active supporter of
unimaginable suffering may very well be the motivating force behind
the U.S.’s adamant attempts to block the Palestinians from using any
of the internationally recognized tools of accountability to hold
Israel responsible, such as the International Court of Justice and the
International Criminal Court. When an indigenous, stateless
population is blocked access to opportunities for justice by
superpowers like the U.S., something is wrong—deadly wrong.

While Israeli bombs were hammering Gaza, Alice Lynd with the
assistance of Staughton Lynd, drafted a 32-page pamphlet which was
published by the Palestine-Israel Working Group of Historians Against
the War (HAW) titled, Violations by Israel and the Problem of
Enforcement (August 2014). The policy paper places the U.S. in front of
its own mirror and meticulously documents how one hand of the U.S.
government systematically documents Israeli violations of U.S. law and
international law, while the other hand unconditionally dishes out
financial, military, and diplomatic support to Israel.

The
study notes that “United States law states that no military assistance
will be provided to a government that engages in a consistent
pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human
rights. Yet the United States gives more military assistance to
Israel than to any other country, currently in excess of $3.1 billion
per year. The U.S. participates in joint military exercises, military
research, and weapons development.”

This contradiction of
its own policy would seem incriminating enough, but if all the other
means of U.S. support to Israel are added—especially the U.S.’s
unwavering role in the UN Security Council as a proxy for Israel’s
interests by vetoing and thereby blocking international steps for
justice—the evidence that the U.S. is an active player in Israel’s
onslaught and continued military occupation becomes overwhelming.

It stands to reason that the U.S. very rightly fears that any step
to hold Israel accountable for crimes against humanity would
ultimately incriminate the U.S. as Israel’s funder, diplomatic cover,
political handler, and arms supplier for decades.

While
this new document was being researched, the Historians Against the
War circulated a letter to President Obama and members of Congress
that begins: “We deplore the ongoing attacks against civilians in Gaza
and in Israel. We also recognize the disproportionate harm that the
Israeli military, which the United States has armed and supported for
decades, is inflicting on the population of Gaza.” (July 31, 2014).
The pamphlet’s contents strike this point home with incriminating
details.

The pamphlet quotes historian Robin D. G. Kelley
who recently said about the ongoing conflict, “Determining next steps
requires that we go back many steps—before the siege, before the
election of Hamas, before the withdrawal of Jewish settlements in
Gaza, before the Oslo Accords, even before the strip came under
Israeli occupation in 1967.” (“When the smoke clears in Gaza,” Aug.
8, 2014, Black Educator).

I had the honor of working with
both authors of this pamphlet following the First Gulf War
(1990-1991) when they suggested we co-edit an oral history of
Palestine as a tool to understand the centrality of Palestine to the
entire destabilization of the Middle East, a reality that is even
more true today. Following several field visits to the West Bank,
Gaza Strip, Israel, and the Golan Heights, that effort resulted in
the publishing of Homeland: Oral History of Palestine and
Palestinians (1993). Their new effort revisits many familiar topics
that we addressed in our book, with chapter headings such as
International Agreements and U.S. Law, International Agreements on
Human Rights, U.S. Law on Foreign Assistance, Violations of
Internationally Recognized Human Rights, Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Arbitrary Arrest or
Detention, Collective Punishment, among many more.

Perhaps
the most important chapter in this brief pamphlet is “The Problem of
Enforcement.” One need not be a historian or political scientist to
understand that as long as global enforcement mechanisms of
accountability are denied to Palestinians due to the political whims
of a superpower, Israel has the green light to attack Gaza and the
West Bank at any time with impunity.

Israel’s senseless
military attack this summer (deceptively coined “Operation Protective
Edge” in English, and more accurately “Solid Cliff” in Hebrew) left
2,168 Palestinians dead, more than 500 of them children. The Institute
for Middle East Understanding compared the proportionate impact of
these deaths to the population in the U.S. Gaza’s devastating human
loss would be equivalent to 376,680 Americans killed in 51 days if
such events were undertaken in the U.S. To put this in perspective,
this number is slightly fewer than the 407,000 U.S. soldiers killed in
World War II. It is not hyperbole to say that everyone in Gaza knows
at least one person who died or was injured in this atrocity, with
each person left wondering if he or she would be next.

If
humanity is to be served, citizens who believe in equal access to
international tools of justice must speak up and denounce the
continued U.S. hegemony over Palestine. If you support nonviolent
means for addressing crimes against humanity—especially if you are
American or Israeli—act now by contacting your elected representative
to demand a change in policy so that marginalized populations are not
shut out of systems of justice when they are the victims of crimes
against humanity. Holding individuals responsible for their crimes is a
core American value; it’s a value we should not compromise for any
country, especially our own.

- Bahour is a
Palestinian-American business consultant in Ramallah and serves as a
policy adviser to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. He
contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.RelatedRelated

Makarim Wibisono, the new UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that Israel did not allow him to visit the West Bank and east Jerusalem on an official mission. "Despite my best efforts, I have not been granted access by Israel to the occupied Palestinian territory at this time," Wibisono said in a press release.

"I deeply regret not having the opportunity to visit the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to speak face-to-face with victims and witnesses of Israel’s alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law."

Wibisono started his first official visit to the region on 20 September. He will visit Jordan and Egypt during his mission, and will seek to access Gaza through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip.

The special rapporteur is supposed to gather first-hand information on the current human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories following Israel’s military operations during the past two months, which resulted in the killing of at least 1,473 Palestinian civilians, including 501 children.

During his mission, he will meet with Palestinian officials, religious and community leaders and civil society representatives, among others.

He will discuss the human rights situation across the occupied Palestinian territories with a focus on the situation of Palestinian children, and the long-term impacts of violence, conflict and occupation on their fundamental human rights.

The UN official will present an oral update to the General Assembly in October 2014 on his findings and conclusions, and report fully on his mission with recommendations to the human rights council in March 2015.

A news conference will be held at the end of his visit on Sunday 28 September at the Fairmont Heliopolis hotel in Cairo.